Ed Wolf: "We need to be resolute, committed and patient, which can be so hard when people’s lives and the planet are at stake."

Day 132. Devil or Angel?
Ed, you actually enjoy hating him and being outraged at his latest policies. Ed, you know all this resentment you’re feeling is just poisoning yourself. But all of those pictures of him looking so ugly really are funny. All those pictures of him looking so ugly are really mean. You want to contact your friends and family members who voted for him and tell them how disappointed you still are and that you’ll never be able to forgive them. You want to figure out ho

Study authors: "We are rigorously evaluating the effect of Jak inhibitors on key events that prevent eradication of HIV in culture, animal models, and humans."

A class of anti-inflammatory drugs already FDA-approved for rheumatoid arthritis could "purge" the reservoir of infected immune cells in people infected by HIV, according to new research.
When culturing cells from HIV-infected individuals, researchers found the medications tofacitinib and ruxolitinib block viral production from infected cells, prevent transmission to bystander cells, and decay the viral reservoir. The results were published in PLOS Pathogens.
"One of the major impediments t

Bob Leahy on the tricky business of acknowledging privilege - how it works both for and against those who have it.

Privilege; Definition a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people.
I’m a lucky person. I get to go on vacations. I also take a lot of photos while I’m away, not on an expensive camera now, but on my iPhone. It’s become a habit to share some of them on Facebook while I’m away.
I also go to quite a few HIV-related conferences, some in Canada, some further away. Again I take photos and post them on Facebook.
I sometimes fe

Committee members terminated by form letter, "effective immediately." From the Washington Post, this report.

A red ribbon in recognition of World AIDS Day hangs at White House on Dec. 1. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
To read the complete article by Ben Guarino, visit The Washington Post, here.
The remaining members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS were fired en masse this week. Months after a half-dozen members resigned in protest of the Trump administration's position on health policies, the White House dismissed the rest through a form letter. The notice “thanked me for my p

PrEP will be available through the BC Centre for Excellence’s HIV Drug Treatment program. From B.C. Gov News, this report.

Effective Jan. 1, 2018, British Columbians at high risk of HIV infection will be able to receive pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a daily oral antiretroviral medication that prevents new HIV infection, at no cost.
“Our government is committed to helping fight the spread of HIV/AIDS and supporting people as they take action to protect themselves from this virus,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “Making this medication free for people will prevent new HIV infections, remove barriers

Researchers assess two studies to understand the impact of chronic inflammation on major clinical events—heart attack, stroke, cancer, other serious complications and the risk of death. From CATIE, Sean R. Hosein reports.

Chronic HIV infection is associated with increased levels of inflammation. Researchers suspect that over the long-term this inflammation may be associated with an increased risk of health problems. To explore this idea, rather than launch a new and expensive clinical trial, researchers in Europe and the U.S. re-analysed data from two large, well-designed studies of the cytokine IL-2 (interleukin-2) in people with HIV. Specifically, researchers sought to assess the impact of chronic inflammati

Attorney General Naqvi: "We join the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization in their request that the federal government examine potential law reform in this area..."

Our Reference #: MC-2017-7062
Thank you for your correspondence regarding criminal law and HIV. I would like to provide you with an update on recent developments.
As so many do on World AIDS Day, it is important to pause and remember all those who have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS and those living with it. We stand in solidarity with everyone impacted by this virus across Ontario and the world. We would like to recognize the dedicated individuals and organizations whose courageous work o

Rob Olver: "Our best wishes and thanks go out to you all."

The holidays are nearly here! I love this time of year, but like a lot of people, I often de-emphasize the “Christmasy” side of it when speaking because I don't want to inadvertently alienate anyone. Still, this time of year is undeniably special, at least in this part of the world. The lights, the cold and the smell of evergreen – I love it. The ritual tit-for-tat of usual daily abuse doesn’t stop but it does slow down and even seems to pause and for a little while people really do s

After years of inaction, governments finally seem open to changes in prosecuting cases of HIV non-disclosure, but it’s not happening fast enough for those who end up behind bars. From NOW Magazine,

Alexander McClelland says there should be a moratorium on the prosecution of cases of HIV non-disclosure.
This article by Alexander McClelland originally appeared at NOW Magazine, here.
For those of us working to change Canada’s laws for people living with HIV, 2017 has been a wild year.
After years of bleak inaction and international condemnation – Canada is currently among the top five countries when it comes to criminalizing and incarcerating people living with HIV – the decisio

The HIV community should be heartened by recent events—developments that are very much welcome, but nowhere near enough. Here's a chance to make your voice heard

On World AIDS Day, after years of advocacy by community organizations, both the federal and Ontario governments recognized the need to limit the “overcriminalization of HIV” in Canada. Both took a first step toward by recognizing that criminal prosecution for alleged HIV non-disclosure is not warranted in the case where a person living with HIV had a “suppressed viral load,” because this is at odds with the science.
The federal Justice Minister released her department’s report, C

Isaac D. Joseph gives his assessment of the current state of HIV criminalization in the United States.

Imagine going on an interview, a date, or just meeting someone for the first time and you introduce yourself as such, “Hello, my name is Isaac Joseph and I am HIV positive.” That would be a pretty awkward way to start off a conversation, wouldn’t you think?
Today in the world of HIV, disclosure is a topic that has been on the lips of many people living with and without HIV, especially with the heightened celebrity scandals involving HIV disclosure in recent years. Some people believe th

Toronto, December 19, 2017-- Ontario is helping families afford the care they need to stay healthy by making prescription medications free for everyone age 24 and under.
Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, met with young mothers at Massey Centre in Toronto today, where he launched OHIP+: Children and Youth Pharmacare. In just under two weeks, children and youth will be able to get their medications at no cost by simply showing their Ontario health card number an

Half of those most likely to pass on HIV were not on treatment, despite guidelines From AIDSmap, Keith Alcorn reports

People with HIV who had high viral load were more likely to report vaginal or anal sex without a condom with a partner of unknown or different HIV status, a US study of people with detectable viral load has found.
Viral loads tended to be lower among those people with a detectable viral load who reported always using condoms, or who reported condomless sex only with other people with HIV.
The findings are published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections by a research team led by Dr

Blood vials for HIV testing (Hoberman Collection/UIG/Getty Images)
In the mid-1990s, Saskatchewan had the lowest incidence of both HIV and AIDS in the country. To put it mildly, things have changed. The rise in the number of new cases since the early 2000s has been dramatic—catapulting from 26 in 2002 to 200 seven years later. Last year Saskatchewan physicians called on the provincial government to declare a public health state of emergency over the high number of people diagnosed with HIV,

From Kenya, Kimutai Kemboi de-stigmatizes taking medication: "I need to tame HIV and be healthy and strong just like you."

“Shame on you for having flu!' This is a statement that would shut me up. I would stop talking simply because it would be shameful.
Now, flu is an infection and so is HIV but no one has ever condemned a person with flu as compared to persons living with HIV!
I’m not saying we should get infected with HIV but we should stop being naive and talking ill about people living with HIV any more than we do when people have other infections! I am happy not for having HIV but for knowing I am HI